SOMETHING COOKIN’: JEFF COOK BEATS STELLAR ESS FIELD

by Tommy Goudge (September 17, 2009) – The Empire Super Sprints tour visited Ohsweken Speedway on Thursday night for a rescheduled event postponed from May. Adding another day onto Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend, the ESS event presented by Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel drew a stellar field of fifty cars from five Canadian provinces and seven American states to the track. When the twenty-five lap feature was over it was ESS regular Jeff Cook in victory lane, topping the invading stars. Meanwhile, Lee Winger took the feature win in the ESSO Thunder Stocks, Steve Hess took ESSO Mini-Stock honours, and Lee Hils won the Bomber feature.

EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS

Wayne Johnson and Bubba Broderick started on the front row of the twenty-five lap ESS feature on Thursday night, but before the green flag even waved trouble struck on Broderick’s machine. During the pace laps, Broderick’s front wing had come loose and stuck at an odd angle. When the green flag dropped, Broderick began to fall back while Johnson jumped out to the early lead. Johnson would lead only the first lap, as Dustin Daggett charged quickly from his fourth starting spot to take the lead from Johnson after a brief side-by-side battle. Daggett led the next three laps with Johnson in tow before Jeff Cook really began to make his presence known by overtaking Johnson for second.

Meanwhile at the back of the field, twenty-fourth starter Shane Stewart was making his way rapidly through the field, and had already gained ten positions by lap five, and Steve Poirier was also making his way through the field from twenty-fifth. Cook made his move for the lead around Daggett on lap eight, while Johnson got around Daggett for the second spot a lap later, but Daggett fought back to retake it again on lap ten.

With the battle for the runner-up spot ongoing, Cook was out front slicing through slower traffic and pulling away. Lap thirteen saw Johnson finally getting clear of Daggett, while Lance Yonge and Justin Barger rounded out the top five. Ryan Grubaugh began to make some moves on laps seventeen and eighteen, passing Yonge and Barger, while Stewart also got by Barger into sixth and then to fifth on lap nineteen, just before a caution came out for a Scott Bonnell spin in turn two. Bonnell’s wing had come apart early in the race and he took the #3b pit side. When the green flag came out again, Cook had the lapped machine of Michael Parent between he and Johnson and used that to his advantage, opening up a lead on the restart.

The red flag made its only appearance of the night on lap twenty-one when Dave Dykstra flipped wildly entering turn one for the second time in three weeks. Dykstra emerged from his badly damaged machine shaken up, but otherwise fine. The green flag came out once again for a four lap dash to the finish, and this time there were no lapped cars between Cook and Johnson. Cook was strong out front however, and kept Johnson at bay while Grubaugh got around Daggett for third.

The handling on Cook’s car began to go away over the last few laps, while Johnson was making gains on the top side. Cook slipped and slid in turn four on the last lap, but Johnson had to lift to avoid an accident and Cook held on for the win with Johnson settling for second. Grubaugh, Stewart, and Daggett rounded out the top five. Heat races for the fifty cars in attendance were claimed by Broderick, Johnson, Yonge, and Daggett, while Daggett also claimed the Dash for Cash, and Alain Bergeron and Trevor Lewis claimed the Conci events.

ESSO THUNDER STOCKS
Dave Bailey and Rodney Rutherford started on the front row for the twenty lap feature, with Bailey getting the early lead and driving away. Lee Winger and Ryan Dinning were on the move through the pack and were on Bailey’s tail after a caution flag bunched the field.

Both drivers would make their way around Bailey when the race restarted, and battled side by side for much of the last half of the race. Dinning tried different grooves to get around his friend for the lead, but couldn’t quite get the job done. Winger took the win, followed by Dinning, Bailey, Shayne Pierce, and Nick Cupolo.

Heat races were claimed by Billy Bleich, Jr. and Winger.

ESSO MINI STOCKS
Glen Leinen and Mike Giberson started on the front row of the fifteen lap Mini-Stock feature, but they wouldn’t stay at the front long as Steve Hess, Kevin Hilborn, Abel Castelein, and Mitchell Brown quickly made their way from the back to the front. Hess got there first and held off Brown for the win, followed by Hilborn, Castelein, and Paul Goodale.

Heat races went to Brown and Castelein.

BOMBERS
Lee Hils and Karl Sault battled through heavy traffic through much of the twenty lap Bomber feature, with Sault leading the way until the very last lap when Hils made a banzai move in turn two and got through the traffic to take the win. Sault settled for second followed by Adam Riedel, Kacey Huffman, and Shawn Ireland.